Will the Real Chatty Crone please stand up

Life is like a mirror. If you frown at it, it frowns back. If you smile at it, it returns the greeting.
- Herbert Samuels

My life seems to evolve around problems. Now dear Ms. Penniwig thinks I'm an eternal optimist.
"Girl you are relentlessly upbeat!!!"

I'm not so sure about that.

I wasn't always a person who tried to be positive. I had to force myself to start thinking that way.

I must be honest, it's very easy in my situation to think pessimistically.

This is the thing about me though. I see pessimism all around me. I see bitterness and I feel it. Lives gone sour. I don't want to be like that! I'm talking about real pessimism. Seems for now I can't do much about it - except for how I choose to react to it. And to be honest it's harder these days to stay positive, but I'm going to do everything within my power, for as long as I can, to stay positive - I feel better being positive than negative.

It's hard today especially because my dermatitis is flaring up from the dog and I know now, I have to be the one to give Scrappy - the dog away. I'm the bad guy having to take him from my grandson and daughter after her wedding was called off by the groom. You would think wouldn't you that they would care enough about me to let the dog go easier. However, I do understand how hard it is going to be on them. My question is do they see how hard it is on me?

The only reason I agreed to the dog in the first place was so that my grandson could have a pal for when he moved! He was so sad about leaving and I thought if he had this dog it would be easier. I knew I was allergic to dogs. The wedding was canceled, but I didn't do it. Yet I'm sure paying for this as if I did. It's like a morgue here. But it has to be done because I'm not going to get sick via a dog. Life is hard enough . . .

So I'm sad today and crying. I don't want to be where I am at - yet I am - so I'm going to CHOOSE to make the best of things. Writing my Blog, talking with friends, singing, dancing, music, words or wisdom, meditations, reading, going out somewhere - these things help me stay positive. That's why I do them. It's my choice.

I was getting a new phone yesterday at Verizon and heard this Bruce Springsteen song that I put below this. I immediately started feeling better and my insides just started dancing and some day before I die - I might even start dancing in places out of the blue for real (I said maybe)!

You can't start a fire sitting 'round crying over a broken heart.
This gun's for hire
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
You can't start a fire worrying about your little world falling apart
This gun's for hire
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
Even if we're just dancing in the dark

Chatty is dancing, in the dark - trying to smile into the mirror of life and be relentlessly upbeat.